Reaction Awareness

Being aware of your actions and reactions is not easy. Take time to think about the current interactions in your life. Check in with yourself- are your reactions are in alignment with who you want to be? Here's a hint - The answer is yes.

Emotions trigger our reactions. Our emotions tell us what we need and our emotions fluctuate from moment to moment in response to the events and situations in our lives. They're there for a reason. They have a purpose. And all emotions are valid. So no matter what your reaction was, it too is valid. When you're reacting to those emotions, it means you want to be a person who is honoring your emotions and working through them. Your reaction maybe just didn't get the desired result, and a little awareness could help adjust to get a better result for next time and release any repeteitive patterns of behaviours that don't work.

Emotions that have been repressed for a very long time can often be explosive. So they need an outlet that is safe (especially for anger). When we are cornered, hurt, or desperate to be cared for, we can tend to either externalize our reactions to our emotions and hurt others as retaliation, or internalize those emotions and hurt ourselves in an attempt to try to stop the cycle of retaliation that we see around us.

Try to see if you can really understand the reason behind the emotion causing your own reactions. Recognize and allow the emotion that is coming up and where it is coming from. Give it a voice. Allow it to be expressed in a healthy way.

Find a way to allow an outlet that won't cause further damage to anyone. That means being brave enough to let it out sooner before it can build to explosive levels, arranging a safe container for that detonation to happen- by yourself or with those you care about, or by talking to someone who is not emotionally attached to your situation so you can talk freely on neutral ground.

The other piece is to recognize if other’s reactions are respectful of you. Think about what they are choosing to show you with their actions. Is this reflective of their personality? Or is this showing you that they are trying to process and release something that they would like to be rid of? Are they using you to feel more powerful? Or taking on your emotions and internalizing them?

What can you learn from each other? Maybe it's just recognizing something that has been overlooked, but is easily fixed with some time to rest and heal, proper nutrition and exercise. Maybe it's something that you aren't capable of fixing and you need to let go of that hope. Until you look at and address the causes - big or small - and find an appropriate reaction that works for you, those emotions will keep popping up, triggering your reactions until you understand what they are telling you. So today is a day to try to understand.